Clean Air Council’s Strange War Against Mariner East Pipeline

The “most serious remaining legal challenge” to Sunoco Logistics’ Mariner East 2 Pipeline project is a challenge by the odious Big Green group, the Clean Air Council, based in Philadelphia. CAC claims in a court case in Common Pleas Court in Philly that ME2 violates the federal and state constitutions. The case takes up constitutional claims that have “not yet been addressed in other litigation.” It dawned on us when reading an account of the case and who says what about whether or not Sunoco has the right to use eminent domain and whether or not ME2 is a public utility, is why does the CAC even care? Why are they the ones bringing the lawsuit? After all, pipelines don’t pollute the air! Well, technically that’s not 100% true–pipeline compressor stations do emit some air pollution, depending on how they are powered (diesel engines). But at the end of the day, pipelines pollute the air far less than other forms of transportation, like trucks and trains. How does CAC even have “standing” to bring such a lawsuit? Of course the fact that CAC is litigating is a tip-off that there is Big Green money behind the effort–and CAC is just a tool being used in a wider collusion (conspiracy?) to stop the pipeline…